Tokyo Police Club

The Tokyo influence is understandable. A crew of chilly kids from Canada could realistically covet Harajuku clothes that don't need to be buried under a parka. It's the police reference I don't get. Bloody billy clubs are never in fashion. Nevertheless, Tokyo Police Club do throw sparks from ultra-hip tasers. Each EP has shown the group growing progressively more pop-minded. Their debut full-length, Elephant Shell, even finds them sounding unabashedly cheery. Their heavily nuanced indie rock pits layers of fuzzed-out guitars against singer David Monk's pristine tenor while intertwining speckles of pianos and splotches of happy Strokes-style hooks. Tokyo Police Club are a young band with some tricks up their sleeves that are certain to be delivered with a smile and a small collection of errant hand claps. With Smoosh, and Maps and Atlases. 18+.
Tue., May 6, 7 p.m., 2008